While digital tools have opened the floodgates to the exploration and definition
of complex geometries in many design fields in the last two decades, their
utilization in architecture has been limited depending on the material and
fabrication method. Specifically with concrete, complex curvatures have been
realized with great difficulty due to the tremendous expense of customized
formwork methods utilized, thereby precluding its use from all but the most
expensive of constructions.
This research explores, demonstrates, and documents a process – as proof of
concept from inception to scaled fabrication – of an economic, efficient, and
rapid method for designing and constructing complex curvatures in structures of
in-situ concrete using digital design, analysis, and fabrication tools. The work
builds upon the rich history of concrete fabric forming, both as a method of
formal exploration, and of construction efficiency. The present research seeks to
combine these two lines of exploration and demonstrate the formal possibilities
for medium and even large-scale structures. Specifically, the work introduces
the use of actively-tensioned membranes into the vocabulary of fabric formwork
and explores its’ practical and formal potential. The use of active-tensioning for
concrete formwork foregrounds the geometry of minimal (i.e. anticlastic)
surfaces as a territory of exploration for formal expression.
Rather than the outright invention of new construction technologies, the
research leverages unrealized potential in established fabrication and
construction methods, and opens the door to the mass-customization of complex
geometries in concrete. The formwork process results in a fully-integrated loadbearing
envelope performing thermal and waterproofing functions, thereby
reducing construction time and minimizing construction waste. The work seeks